Five tissue slides: record and sort each one
This page has four parts, in the order you use them. Part 1 is what you need to know. Part 2 says what to do, in plain English. Part 3 shows the work done once on a case that is not yours. Part 4 is your own work and where to turn it in.
Open your materials, follow the steps, then turn in your work.
Record five tissue slides on a five-panel organizer, sort each slide into one of the four tissue groups from what you can see, and connect the groups to one organ.
Part 1 of 4 · Background and definitions▸
💡 Big idea: Organs combine groups; the stomach contains all four. You tell them apart by how the cells are arranged and what sits between them.
- • Organization levels: A cell is one living unit; is cells and surrounding material working together. An organ combines two or more tissue types. An is organs working together. An organism is the whole living individual. The stomach wall contains smooth muscle tissue, built from smooth muscle cells. Smooth muscle is muscle without the crosswise stripes of skeletal muscle. The digestive system processes food; the stomach is one of its organs.
- • : A group of similar cells, plus the material between them, that does one kind of job.
- • : Cells packed side by side in a sheet that covers a surface or lines a hollow organ.
- • : Cells spread out in a material they make, called matrix: fibers, gel, liquid or solid.
- • Muscle : Long cells that shorten, or contract, to produce movement.
- • Nervous : Neurons carry signals through extensions; supporting cells help neurons function.
- • Total magnification: Eyepiece magnification multiplied by objective magnification. A 15x eyepiece with a 4x objective gives 60x.
Radiologists and surgeons name a location by plane and because a plane says which direction a view is cut and a cavity says which region a finding sits in; the terms narrow where to look, and the exact organ or finding still has to be named on its own.
Organs combine groups; the stomach contains all four. You tell them apart by how the cells are arranged and what sits between them.
Driving question: Which visible feature places each of the five slides in one of the four groups?
What you already know: Cells are the smallest living units. Reference R defines the four groups before you use them.
New idea: Organs combine groups; the stomach contains all four. You tell them apart by how the cells are arranged and what sits between them. A cell is one living unit; tissue is cells and surrounding material working together. An organ combines two or more tissue types. An is organs working together. An organism is the whole living individual. The stomach wall contains smooth muscle tissue, built from smooth muscle cells. Smooth muscle is muscle without the crosswise stripes of skeletal muscle. The digestive system processes food; the stomach is one of its organs.
Visual or model: F1 is a text model of the sorting rule, not a photograph of a slide. The D cards describe what each slide looks like. What to notice: Two questions sort every slide: how the cells are arranged and what sits between them.
- Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Find the region at low power, 40x, then raise the magnification to 100x or 400x to see cell details.
- Ask the arrangement question: packed sheet, cells spread in material, long strands, or cells with branching extensions.
- Ask the between-cells question: almost nothing, a lot of matrix, or thin partitions.
- Confirm with one specific feature such as a free surface, fibers, or crosswise stripes, then record the group and the magnification.
Real biomedical example: A histologist compares a sample with the normal arrangement for that . A change in arrangement is a reason for closer study, not by itself a diagnosis. Source: Types of Tissues.
What the evidence supports: The record supports naming the group and describing the visible structure of each slide.
What it cannot prove: Classify each slide by what you can see and record the magnification. These cards and observations show structure at one moment. They cannot support a diagnosis or a claim about a cohort patient, and do not measure function.
- • Organization levels: A cell is one living unit; is cells and surrounding material working together. An organ combines two or more tissue types. An is organs working together. An organism is the whole living individual. The stomach wall contains smooth muscle tissue, built from smooth muscle cells. Smooth muscle is muscle without the crosswise stripes of skeletal muscle. The digestive system processes food; the stomach is one of its organs.
- • : A group of similar cells, plus the material between them, that does one kind of job.
- • : Cells packed side by side in a sheet that covers a surface or lines a hollow organ.
- • : Cells spread out in a material they make, called matrix: fibers, gel, liquid or solid.
- • Muscle : Long cells that shorten, or contract, to produce movement.
- • Nervous : Neurons carry signals through extensions; supporting cells help neurons function.
- • Total magnification: Eyepiece magnification multiplied by objective magnification. A 15x eyepiece with a 4x objective gives 60x.
Use it now: Use Model M. If the eyepiece is 15x and you switch from the 4x to the 40x objective, how does the total magnification change? This is thinking practice for the one turn-in named under Turn in, not a second submission.
Go further, optional: OpenStax chapter 4 and the official PLTW materials add context. The handout contains every required input for this practice.
D1 to D5 in the handout: original plain-English cards describing what each assigned slide typically shows at 100x and 400x. Use them to know what to look for, or record the card's 400x view when no microscope is available.
Limit: A card describes a typical slide, not your own observation. Record what you see, or mark a card-based panel as supplied.
Proposed five organizer panels, not preverified observations: type, main group, total magnification as a product, a sketch with two labeled features and two observation sentences.
Limit: Each panel must state its source: supplied-card description at nominal 400x, or a genuine observation with the objective actually used. Cards do not establish physical microscope work, a measurement or diagnosis.
No patient record, reference slide or function measurement is supplied. These cards and observations show structure at one moment.
Limit: Classify each slide by what you can see and record the magnification. These cards and observations show structure at one moment. They cannot support a diagnosis or a claim about a cohort patient, and do not measure function.
Today's decision · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: visitor in a hospital histology lab
Decision: A slide arrives labeled only with a code. Decide how you will place it in one of the four groups before you fill in its panel. Use Reference R, the D cards and the limits in E3.
- • Sort the slide by how its cells are arranged and what sits between them, then confirm with one feature you can see.
- • Name the group from the organ the slide came from, since a stomach slide has to show stomach and each organ has its own kind.
- • Leave the group blank until a second slide of the same organ is checked, since one field of view cannot show the whole sample.
Response: Five completed organizer panels and one stomach organization line, saved as one PDF. The choice discussion is preparation, not another submission. Use it inside the one turn-in named under Turn in; it is not a separate submission.
Claim ceiling: Classify each slide by what you can see and record the magnification. These cards and observations show structure at one moment. They cannot support a diagnosis or a claim about a cohort patient, and do not measure function.
Students often think the organ a slide came from tells me its group, so a stomach slide shows stomach tissue. The trap: every organ is built from several groups. The group is decided by cell arrangement and the material between cells, which you must observe and record
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Part 2 of 4 · Directions in plain English▸
2.1 Open your materials
2.2 Start the work
Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Card route: use D3 elastic connective tissue and D4 neuron smear, or name the alternate card variant you chose. Never merge both variants into a claimed observation. Read Reference R in the tissue handout and try Model M's magnification check. Read the five slide cards, D1 to D5, so you know what to look for before you sit at the microscope.
Show all 4 required steps
- Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Card route: use D3 elastic connective tissue and D4 neuron smear, or name the alternate card variant you chose. Never merge both variants into a claimed observation. Read Reference R in the tissue handout and try Model M's magnification check. Read the five slide cards, D1 to D5, so you know what to look for before you sit at the microscope.
- Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Use the five-panel organizer, printed or copied. For each of the five slides record the tissue type, the total magnification as a product, a sketch with two labeled features, and two observation sentences. Use the microscope when you have one. If not, record the card's 400x view: write 10x times 40x = 400x, sketch what the card describes, and mark that panel "from the described card".
- Write the main tissue group on each panel using Reference R's two questions. Then write one organization line for the stomach: cell, tissue, organ, organ system, organism, with one example at each level.
- Check all five panels and the organization line with the handout's turn-in list. Save them as one PDF, scanning paper clearly. Submit in Wk4 Lab notebook: Tissue types and body-organization model using your section's Schoology button below and check the uploaded preview.
Lost your place? Open the D card for the slide in front of you. Write the tissue type and the magnification product first, then sketch and label two features.
- 0-10 minRead Reference R and try Model M's magnification check
- 10-20 minRead D1 to D5 and set up the five-panel organizer
- 20-55 minOne panel per D card, or teacher-approved microscope rotation: five panels total
- 55-65 minSort each panel into a group with the two questions
- 65-72 minWrite the stomach organization line
- 72-80 minCheck the turn-in list, save one PDF, submit in your section
- • Today record five panels from supplied D cards or teacher-approved microscope observations. Label the source on every panel; card descriptions are not your own observations.
- • The handout supplies the sorting rule, the magnification rule and a described card for every slide. Nothing has to be looked up.
- • Keep this original practice separate from the official PLTW organizer and the cohort in Schoology.
PLTW connection and today's work
John Hay original recording practice supporting PLTW HBS Activity 1.1.3, Held Together by a Thread, the microscope portion. The official activity pages, the PLTW Histology Organizer and cohort patient records stay in your Schoology course. The handout links to both sections' course materials.
Today's stopping point: Stop after the five panels and the organization line. Do not add practice details to the official cohort chart or mark a PLTW activity complete from this practice.
Today uses John Hay teacher-created practice. It builds skills for the course, but does not count as completing an official myPLTW activity.
Course connection
- Activity 1.1.3 Held Together by a Thread
Use the turn-in directions in Part 4 of this page. Do not create a second submission unless your teacher asks for one.
Show another explanation or a smaller first step
Need help? Choose a starting point
Finish the assigned lab safely before starting extra practice.
Part 3 of 4 · Worked example▸
This is a parallel case, not your own. Read it for the order of the work, then do your own in Part 4.
Constructed reference model, not an actual microscope observation.
Panel for a slide not on today's list: simple squamous epithelium, a thin lining.
Tissue type: simple squamous epithelium. Main group: epithelial. Total magnification: 15x eyepiece times 40x objective = 600x. Sketch labels: flat cell outline; central nucleus.
Observations: One layer of thin, flat cells fits together like floor tiles, with a rounded nucleus bulging near the middle of each cell. Almost nothing sits between the cells and the sheet has one free surface, so this is epithelial tissue.
Organization line for a different organ, the heart: cell (one cardiac muscle cell), tissue (cardiac muscle tissue), organ (the heart), organ system (cardiovascular system), organism (the whole person).
| Panel field | Model M |
|---|---|
| Tissue type | Simple squamous epithelium |
| Main group | Epithelial |
| Total magnification | 15x times 40x = 600x |
| Two labeled features | Flat cell outline; central nucleus |
| Observation 1 | One layer of thin flat cells fitted like tiles |
| Observation 2 | Almost nothing between cells; one free surface |
| Source | Constructed reference model; no actual microscope observation |
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Separate original practice showing a complete organizer panel and an organization line, not answers for today's five slides.
- Use Reference R and the D cards for five panels; record the source and the chosen variant.
- Show the magnification product, two sketch labels and two source-based sentences on each panel.
- Build the stomach hierarchy from Reference R's facts. Check and save the same five panels and line as one PDF.
Model M is a constructed reference, not an actual microscope observation. Use D1 to D5 or teacher-approved observations for your own five panels. Card descriptions do not prove physical work, official activity completion or submission. No second record is due.
Also due today: Use the microscope or the D cards for your own five panels and write the stomach organization line yourself. Submit one PDF to Wk4 Lab notebook: Tissue types and body-organization model in your section, not this model.
Part 4 of 4 · Your work▸
Check your work before submitting
- My five panels each show a tissue type, its main group, a total magnification written as a product, a sketch with two labeled features, and two observation sentences.
- I can name the visible feature that places each slide in one of the four groups.
- My organization line puts five levels in order with one stomach example at each level.
- I submit one PDF in my own section's assignment and mark any panel recorded from a described card at its 400x view.
Before lab work: read the safety rules
- Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Carry the microscope upright with two hands, one under the base. Set it down away from the bench edge and keep the cord clear of the aisle.
- Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Prepared slides are glass. Hold them by the edges, keep them flat on the stage, and tell Mr. Mendoza at once if one chips or breaks. Do not pick up broken glass with your fingers.
- Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Start on the 4x objective. Use only the fine focus on the 40x objective so the lens never touches the slide. Never use the 100x oil objective today.
- Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Wash your hands after the microscope work. Return each slide to its labeled slot in the box.
4.1 Turn in your work
DueCheck the Schoology assignment for this day- Hand in
- Five completed tissue organizer panels and one stomach organization line
How to submit and name your file
Submit one PDF with all five completed panels and your stomach organization line in Wk4 Lab notebook: Tissue types and body-organization model. Choose your own section below. Follow its posted due date and check the uploaded preview.
In Schoology, open your course and the assignment for this lesson. Attach your file, select Submit, and check that it appears in the submission.
PDF upload helpYou get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
Choose your Schoology section. Open only one assignment.
Check the section number beside Human Anatomy and Physiology in Schoology.
Assignment: Wk4 Lab notebook: Tissue types and body-organization model
Link will not open? Open Schoology, choose your section, and find the assignment title above.
- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedSubmit one PDF with all five completed panels and your stomach organization line in Wk4 Lab notebook: Tissue types and body-organization model. Choose your own section below. Follow its posted due date and check the uploaded preview.
- Error analysis and method · counts doubleName a specific limit of the method and how it moved your result, and compare what you predicted to what happened. "Human error" does not count; say what about the procedure or instrument caused it.
How this lesson connects
Planes and cavities locate a structure → five slides show the tissue level → sort each by what you see → tomorrow, describe a location without claiming tissue damage.
Unit 1 guide: what to keep and use nextPractice: try a question, then check your answer▸
Claim ceiling for this check: Classify each slide by what you can see and record the magnification. These cards and observations show structure at one moment. They cannot support a diagnosis or a claim about a cohort patient, and do not measure function.
A slide shows long, spindle-shaped cells packed side by side, each with one central nucleus and no crosswise stripes. Which group is it, and which feature decided it?
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Missed class or ready for more?▸
For Wednesday: keep your five panels. The anatomy-location practice asks where a structure is, not which tissue it is, so the two records stay separate.
Finish the checklist before you handle any material.
- • Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Carry the microscope upright with two hands, one under the base. Set it down away from the bench edge and keep the cord clear of the aisle.
- • Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Prepared slides are glass. Hold them by the edges, keep them flat on the stage, and tell Mr. Mendoza at once if one chips or breaks. Do not pick up broken glass with your fingers.
- • Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Start on the 4x objective. Use only the fine focus on the 40x objective so the lens never touches the slide. Never use the 100x oil objective today.
- • Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Wash your hands after the microscope work. Return each slide to its labeled slot in the box.
- 1Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Set the 4x objective in place, turn the light on low, and put the first slide on the stage with the label facing you.
- 2Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Focus with the coarse knob at 4x until you see color, then center a clear region. Switch to 10x and refocus with the fine knob.
- 3Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. On that slide's panel, write the tissue type and the total magnification as a product, eyepiece times objective, as in Model M.
- 4Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Sketch what fills the field of view. Label two features from the slide's D card, such as a nucleus, a fiber, a free surface or a stripe.
- 5Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Switch to 40x only with the fine knob. Add any feature you can now see, and note the new magnification if you changed your sketch.
- 6Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Write two observation sentences: how the cells are arranged, and what sits between them. Then return to 4x before removing the slide.
- 7Microscope route only, after teacher approval, supervision and equipment-specific directions. Card route: skip physical work; use the described 400x view. Repeat for all five slides. Mark any panel you completed from a described card instead of the microscope.
| Tissue type | Main group | Total magnification as a product | Sketch with two labeled features | Two observation sentences | Source: microscope or described card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Use the D card to identify a feature for the same panel; no separate prediction record is due.
Card route: name a feature supplied by the chosen card; do not claim you observed it. Physical route: record only the feature you genuinely saw. This is part of the same panel, not a second reflection.
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
The that become most of the bone and of the face.
Goes with: The cells that build the face
The master switch: how a cell decides to become bone rather than something else.
Goes with: The master switch: how a cell chooses its fate
How a seam disappears: and let palatal shelves fuse.
Goes with: When palatal shelves meet: the seam must disappear
Card route: use D3 elastic and D4 smear, or name the alternate card variant you chose. Never merge both variants into a claimed observation. Use the handout's five described slide cards, D1 to D5, instead of the microscope. For each panel use the card's 400x view, write 10x times 40x = 400x, and mark the panel "from the described card". Add the stomach organization line, save one PDF and submit in your own section. If upload fails, keep the work and tell me.
Tissue sorting rule, slide cards and step-by-step helpSubmit one PDF with all five completed panels and your stomach organization line in Wk4 Lab notebook: Tissue types and body-organization model. Choose your own section below. Follow its posted due date and check the uploaded preview.
Class still runs. Complete today's work as this page describes (it is self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
Tissue sorting rule, slide cards and step-by-step helpSources: slides, readings, and resources▸
Use the deck and optional notes for the same five panels and stomach line. Cards are supplied descriptions; physical work requires teacher approval. No extra exit ticket or second submission is due.
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